These vegan coconut paletas (paletas de coco) are super easy to make and have only 3 ingredients. They are creamy, without being too rich, and full of toasted coconut flakes. These were my favorite growing up, now I can’t decide between these and the mango-chile paletas. However, I do think this vegan version is even better than the versions made with cow’s milk. They are definitely kid approved!

I had a kitchen nightmare the other night. I hadn’t had one in years! A kitchen nightmare is common among professional cooks and chefs. They usually entail something forgotten in the oven, the ticket machine spitting out ticket after ticket, or chef yelling at you. I don’t even know what caused me to have one, but chef was yelling at me. I was trying to explain myself and only digging the whole deeper. You should know, even in dreams, your response should always be, “Yes, chef.” I woke up a little freaked out, only to realize that my sweet two year old was trying to wake me up with kisses. I cannot even explain to you the huge relief I felt.

Sometimes I miss being a cook in a restaurant, but then I see how hard and tirelessly my husband works and how much we miss him, and I forget about it. Sometimes being a mom entails many tedious and repetitive tasks, and a great exercise in patience, but those sweet kisses cannot be replaced with anything. Not even the rush of adrenaline you get from working the line on a busy night, or the first sip of beer after getting your butt kicked on a Saturday. That morning I was really grateful that I get to be a stay-at-home mom/blogger, that is until I had to wipe up some poop off the bathroom floor!

The Recipe: Vegan Coconut Paletas

I was going to go all out and buy a fresh coconut to make these, since they are so accessible here in Hawaii, but I quickly changed my mind when I imagined trying to crack a coconut with my two kids pulling at my legs. This is the easy version. I used light coconut milk to minimize the amount of fat, but feel free to use full fat coconut milk if that is what you desire. Enjoy!

Just a question. Why did you strain the milk/sugar combo? It doesn’t seem like it would matter in this case.

Your kids would love to share in opening a coconut! Hammer a clean nail in the eyes and drain off the liquid for them to drink while you smash with the hammer or throw to the concrete, the whole coconut. Then you can pry off bits of coconut for the kids to eat (and don’t go scraping off the brown part to make it pretty. Get them used to eating it this way and it’ll be much easier on you in the future. Then you can take the rest into the kitchen where you might need a knife to pry out some of the coconut but the kids will be happy going off to do something else by this point!

While I am at it, when we were young and pineapple was getting cut up for salads or parties, we kids got to chew on the core pieces cut from the wedges. They aren’t as sweet as the main part but good for a started when the rest is being used for something to eat later. We thought of it as a treat before the treat!

You don’t really need to strain it. I did it because sometimes as the coconut milk cools a thin film can form at the top. Thanks for the tip about the coconut. I will have to try it. I’m sure they would have a kick out of it.